Readers-I entered myself into a blog contest, a creative writing blog contest. I know my usual style is profane, raunchy and personal humor writing, but i figured, Hey, let’s try something new!.
Anyways, I am sharing it with you all if your interested.
However, I must warn you: There are no pictures (But That Girl Ryan, how do we read this 2,000 word entry without pictures?!) Well, the writing should paint some pictures in your mind (this is my artsy response to your question)…give it a try.
No Pictures? I. Can’t. Do. It.
Blog Contest Background:
The story has to be about a guy named John, who has amnesia. He wakes up everyday and doesn’t remember anything about himself.
The One Rule, You must use this sentence in your entry:
When I left, I woke up for the first time, again.
Let me know what you think! See the other entries here: http://people.ign.com/bulltoad
It was 6:05AM and the sun started to shine through the window. Damn Sunlight, it’s the bane of my existence. For most, sunlight means the start of a new day, a day filled with potential. For me, it’s nothing more than the start of my nightmare.
I took a deep breath preparing myself for the foreign feeling of not knowing who I was. Slowly, I stretched my hands across both sides of me, feeling the silky, soft sheets of my bed until I reached a barrier.
The barrier was warm and soft, it felt like the side of a human being. My heart stopped, I was afraid to open my eyes. Who is this person lying next to me? One eyed peeked just enough to see a naked woman sleeping on her belly. I scanned up her bare back…she was blonde…and beautiful. Quickly, I jumped out of bed and got dressed wanting to avoid this awkward morning-after, confrontation.
My head pounded and my vision was fuzzy, Wow, last night must have been a good time, I thought to myself. I could still taste the whiskey on my breath as it parched the inside of my mouth.
Dragging myself into the bathroom, I looked into the mirror. Who is this person? I hadn’t recognized myself for what felt like a long time and It made me sick knowing that I wake up every day feeling the same way. I looked into my own eyes, they were a deep colored blue and had glazed over as if they hadn’t been alive in months.
My thoughts were interrupted by the mysterious woman scrambling to put on her clothes.
“ Hi john, I know you don’t know me, but just listen. Don’t leave this house or go anywhere. I’ll explain everything when I get back, I won’t be long.” She hurried out the front door before I had a chance to speak.
How did she know my name? Who am I?
Staying in this house all day was not an option, I didn’t want to be alone with this stranger staring back at me in the mirror. Today, I would find out who I was; learn the truth behind my existence.
I had no idea where I was headed to, but I walked out the door and jumped into the first car I spotted parked outside. With the keys conveniently in the ignition, I felt my body take over. Though I had no idea how to drive a car, my movements were automatic. As the car roared forward, the gas pedal underneath my foot, a robotic voice came over the stereo speakers:
“Hello, John, where would you like to go today?”
Holy shit, I thought to myself, who is this?
“Hello-whose there?”
“Hello, john, where would you like to go today?”
I didn’t know what to say, who was this woman? How did she know my name?
“I’d really like to make my head stop pounding.”
“Sure , John, re-routing to the nearest coffee shop”
She guided me through an urban area where hundreds of people were rushing to a destination. I had a longing to be amongst them, just so I could have that feeling of knowing I was expected to be somewhere.
I parked the car and headed into the coffee shop. Looking around, each person was sitting at a table, zoned out. Their eyes focused on a screen in front of them. Some were pounding their fingers furiously on the screen, taking no time to pause. I walked in further to get a closer look at these screens. Each screen was outline with pictures, words and ads. What were they all staring at? I was so mesmerized by their intense focus, I plopped next to a young male and inquired about the screen.
“You like this model?” the young male said to me
“I’m sorry?”
“You like this laptop model? It’s the newest edition. Such a fast connection and it links to all your social networks at once!”
I had no idea what this kid was talking about. He must have seen the complexity on my face and continued to explain by pulling out another smaller device with the same type of screen.
“I just got this bad boy yesterday…fully loaded, smartphone. My twitter account simultaneously connects to my brain and can post what I am thinking. Watch this” He pointed to his screen and closed his eyes. As he held the device, a secret, coded message appeared on the screen. I suspect it was part of this “Twitter” language, one that I was not fluent in.
It read:
Cool Jack: Just trying out my new @smartphone edition! #YOLO
The young kid opened his eyes and waited for my reaction. I gave him my best smile, but felt nothing but disgust, who made technology that could access waves in the human brain?
“Not a fan of Twitter?” he asked in disappointment.
“No”
“Not even Facebook? EVERYONE uses Facebook!
“No, what’s the Facebook?”
“It’s called Facebook…drop the- “The”.. and it’s basically a full population database.”
“Everyone has one?”
“Dude, everyone! It’s the only way to identify yourself these days”
“How do I get to The Facebook?”
“HA, get to FACEBOOK…remember, drop the- “the”…you just have to get on the internet and type in the address.”
“Ok-thanks for your help”
I rushed out the door and got back into the car.
“Hello, John, where would you like to go?” the mysterious voice asked me.
“To the Facebook. I need to go to the Facebook, right now.”
“Im sorry John, I’m not sure what you mean. To the Race Park?”
“No the facebook!”
“I’m sorry, I can’t understand what you mean”
Forget it, robot woman couldn’t understand me, what was the point of her anyway? Surely someone else would know where to find this Book of Faces. Out of nowhere, a man pulled me inside a store. “WELCOME! To wireless central, how may I help you today?”
“ I am trying to get to The Facebook-I was told I can get there thru the internet?”
“Ah, yes you can get on Facebook by purchasing a Smartphone! All our Smartphone’s come equipped with the internet as well. These are all our smart phones” he pointed to a section of screened devices.
“So I can only get to The Facebook from Smartphones, not dumbphones?”
“Haha, you’re so funny! I guess that’s a good way to put it, but no, you can’t”
“I’ll take it then”
As he gave me the device, I felt a sense of excitement. THIS was the key to finding out who I was.
I pressed some buttons on the phone and another robotic voice came on.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
“I want to find The Facebook”
“Sure, do you mean the address for Facebook?”
“Yes”
“Would you like directions?”
“Yes”
As I began my journey, I passed several newsstands with front page articles written about this “Book of Faces”. Some of the article titles were…
Facebook, to take over the world!
The man behind Facebook’s newest invention.
Is the new Facebook technology going to ruin mankind?
This place really seemed to be a big deal, it was bound to have the information I was looking for.
When I came upon a glass building, my device had told me that I had arrived at my destination. As I looked up, I saw the words I had been searching for: FACEBOOK Headquarters
I walked in and was greeted by a young girl at the front desk.
“Is this The Facebook?” I asked her.
She giggled, “Yes, this is Facebook-Drop the-“The”, how can I help you?”
“I am here to find out who I am, I have been told that The Facebook would help me do that”
Before she could answer, the phone rang.
“Hold on a minute” she said.
“Hello? Hi, Ms. Hanson…o, yes….” She glanced back up at me “I understand…sure, I will send him right up” She hung up the phone.“John, please follow me”
I didn’t speak a word as I followed the young girl into the elevator. The doors opened and there were tons of people typing at those weird screens I had seen earlier. As I continued down a hallway, the people around me seemed to stop and stare. Their whispers flew through the rest of the office like wildfire…
That’s him…yea, I saw a whole documentary about his life…total genius…he’s going to change the world…looks older in person…what a brave guy.
The young girl stopped in front of an office door and directed me to go in. I looked up to see the naked woman from earlier this morning standing behind a desk.
“John, John, John…your arrival is right on time everyday! I don’t know how you do it, but the research team is fascinated.”
“Who are you? How do you know me?” I demanded.
She rolled her eyes and sighed “We do this every day John, it’s getting rather annoying. Maybe one day you will actually listen to me and NOT leave the house.”
I sat, feeling anxious for what she was about to tell me.
“You are part of a facebook experiment, one that you created! Soon after taking over the company, we decided our users needed more, something so pioneer that Twitter, Instagram and all those other social losers couldn’t keep up with. Our plan was to re-write every Facebook user’s brain so it could live, breathe, eat the social network. We are still in the beginning stages with this experiment, but we already have erased your mind to re-program it back into the network matrix. Soon you will be able to get a full facebook profile on every stranger you meet. It will be delivered straight to your conscious mind. Eventually, our brains will be programmed like computers so there is no need for any material devices.
“So people want to trade in their natural abilities for a computerized mind? I am responsible for The Facebook Experiment?”
“Yes, facebook-drop the-“the””
My heart began to race as I stood up “Why would anyone want to live in this social network?”
“Because, people are obsessed! They are always on the network and wanted Facebook to integrate more into their lives! You are a genius and our work with this experiment is a technological break-through!”
I felt sick as I stood up to leave, finding the first exit out of the Facebook building.
When I left, I woke up for the first time, again. I woke up to realize that my nightmare each and every day is something I created.
As I walked back into the city, I wanted nothing more than the feeling of being alive, knowing when the blanket of night approached, my memories of feeling real would be covered. How could I have traded pure reality for a programmed one?
When I reached the entrance to “The Mind Eraser Bar”, I figured I should go in for a drink. The smell of whiskey and cigarettes filled my lungs as I opened the door.
“Evening John, the usual?” asked the bartender.
The bartender knew my usual order? I must come here every day…but for some reason the familiarity gave me a sense of comfort.
Around 12am, I stumbled out of the bar, staying just long enough to feel numb from the truth and walked into a tattoo parlor. I told the artist I needed a permanent reminder on my arm, just one lasting memory.
Perplexed, the tattoo artist asked, “Sure, what were u thinking? A dragon? A skull? You look like a skull type of guy”
“No, I want a reminder, a reminder so permanent, nothing can erase it. I scribbled the words on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
It read: “Do Not Search For The Facebook, Today”
“Do you mean Facebook? I think you drop the -“the”
I laid in the chair and fell asleep as he scribed a note for the stranger in the mirror.
That Girl Ryan 